It is often necessary to inspect and maintain areas under conditions which render them inaccessible or otherwise uninhabitable by humans for an extended period. These conditions include, for example, small confined spaces and harsh environments such as insufficient air/oxygen, presence of toxins, radioactivity, contamination, excessive dust, dirt and filth, and high noise levels. These conditions can be found in areas common to storm and sewer pipes, nuclear reactors and containments, fossil fuel plants and petrochemical refining facilities just to name a few. Although these present their own problems and complexities with respect to inspecting and maintaining, the inconvenient and time-consuming nature of performing the initial inspection is common to all.
For illustrative purposes the inspection of storm and sewer pipes is considered in detail, although the scope of the present invention is by no means limited to this application. Most municipalities contain a vast network of storm and sewer pipes which often represent the oldest infrastructure in the community. Periodically, these pipes must be inspected for problems such as cracks, blockage, build-up, and root infiltration. To this end, it is common for an invasive device such as a pipe crawler or push camera to be introduced into the pipe to perform the inspection.
Although effective in obtaining detailed images, using a pipe crawler is inconvenient and requires a great deal of time to set up and operate even if no problem is discovered. In other words, the pipe crawler is deployed regardless of whether a problem exists. Furthermore, the use of pipe crawlers is frequently limited by the size and configuration of pipes to be entered.
The inefficiencies associated with routine inspections are exacerbated in situations where the pipes need to be cleaned since pipe inspection and cleaning are typically performed by different personnel, often at different times. In a typical cleaning operation, an invasive inspection is performed initially to determine whether the pipes are blocked. Such an inspection tends to be excessive since blockage conditions can be determined usually without the precision required for assessing cracks and other pipe damage. If a blockage is detected, then cleaning personnel must be brought in to perform an invasive cleaning operation. Once the cleaning procedure is performed, a second inspection is typically required to ensure that the blockage has been removed. This second inspection requires the inspection personnel to return and perform yet another invasive inspection (which as mentioned above is excessive in the first instance) to confirm whether the blockage has been removed. If the cleaning was not sufficient, then the cleaning personnel must return to continue the cleaning operation, and the cleaning/inspection process is repeated yet again. Thus, in this cleaning process, an inconvenient and excessive inspection is repeated between each cleaning causing delays and driving up costs.
Therefore, there is a need for a more convenient approach to inspect and maintain underground pipes without the time and complexity associated with invasive techniques such as the use of pipe crawlers or push cameras. The present invention fulfills this need among others.